“Impressions of Gaza”

Chomsky t-shirts. A sample:

UPDATE: In case it wasn't obvious, this post was not meant as an endorsement of the company that sells the t-shirts. Nor should it be understood as approving the use of Chomsky's name or image in a commercial product. Just as we occasionally link to writings that are critical of Chomsky's, so too we may sometimes write about a product whose existence contradicts, in a way, much of what Chomsky stands for. UPDATE 2: Apt comments by correspondent Matthew Schuld:

I have to admit I am sad to see that this item exists. Much like the Che T-shirt that has become so popular on college campuses, a sad irony exists. For one who speaks out so much against this type of petty capitalism and the sound bites or sloganeering, it is a shame to see Chomsky portrayed this way. I of course don't know Chomsky personally, but he has stood hard against his own idolization. I have no doubt he'd look at this shirt with disgust and disappointment.

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Iraq and US Foreign Policy, interview with Peshawa Abdulkhaliq Muhammed, Kurdistani Nwe Newspaper (December 25, 2006). An excerpt:

The primary issue is not access but rather control. That is clear both from internal documentation and from the historical record. The US followed the same Middle East policies for decades when it was not using a drop of Middle East oil, and even now, intelligence projects that while controlling the Middle East for the traditional reasons, the US should rely on more secure Atlantic Basin reserves: West Africa and the Western hemisphere.

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On Just War Theory and the Invasion of Iraq, recording of a talk delivered at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, (April 20, 2006). Thanks to the generosity of a visitor, this video is now available again. A brief description of the event:

From the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Noam Chomsky talks to West Point cadets about just war theory and the invasion of Iraq. During the talk, Professor Chomsky criticizes the work of Michael Walzer, an influential proponent of just war theory and the author of the popular "Just and Unjust Wars." Following his remarks, Professor Chomsky takes questions from the cadets about international law and the Bush administration's foreign policy.

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Iraq: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, interview with Michael Albert, ZNet (December 27, 2006). An excerpt:

The real reason for the invasion, surely, is that Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world, very cheap to exploit, and lies right at the heart of the world's major hydrocarbon resources, what the State Department 60 years ago described as "a stupendous source of strategic power." The issue is not access, but rather control (and for the energy corporations, profit). Control over these resources gives the US "critical leverage" over industrial rivals, to borrow Zbigniew Brezinski's phrase, echoing George Kennan when he was a leading planner and recognized that such control would give the US "veto power" over others. Dick Cheney observed that control over energy resources provides "tools of intimidation or blackmail" -- when in the hands of others, that is. We are too pure and noble for those considerations to apply to us, so true believers declare -- or more accurately, just presuppose, taking the point to be too obvious to articulate.

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On Gerald Ford and the Invasion of East Timor, audio interview, The Struggle talk (January 5, 2007).

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Just released: updated paperback edition of

Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal by Anthony Arnove With a foreword by Howard Zinn "An urgent book." --Arundhati Roy "A powerful and compelling argument on behalf of withdrawal from Iraq." --Ron Kovic "Anthony Arnove's analysis of the reasons for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq is brilliant." --Cindy Sheehan "A book that every American, regardless of political viewpoint, should read." --Richard Falk "A compelling brief against America's new imperial venture." --Frances Fox Piven "Conventional wisdom keeps saying there are no good options, but Arnove's analysis suggests a way out of the misery." --Chicago Reader "A rigorous analysis of the American occupation." --Mahmood Mamdani "An impassioned, unflinching case for immediate U.S. withdrawal. Read this book and bring the troops home now." --Eve Ensler Catch the author at the following events: January 17, 7 pm, New York, NY (with Michael Schwartz) 16 Beaver http://www.16beavergroup.org/monday/ January 20, 7 pm, Chicago, IL (with Jeff Engelhardt) University of Illinois-Chicago Contact: Adam Turl, 773-567-0936, adamcturl@yahoo.com January 27, 5 pm, Washington, DC (with Kelly Dougherty) Busboys and Poets http://www.busboysandpoets.com/blog_events.htm February 1, 7:30 pm, Pasadena, CA Voices of a People's History of the United States with Mark Ruffalo, Q'Orianka Kilcher, Benjamin Bratt, Marisa Tomei, Josh Brolin, and Alfre Woodard. All Saints Episcopal Church http://www.icujp.org Published by Metropolitan Books / American Empire Project Series Paperback US$13.00 ISBN: 0805082727 208 pages http://www.americanempireproject.com/bookpage.asp?ISBN=0805082727 Available from bookstores and online from Haymarket Books http://www.haymarketbooks.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Haymarket&Product_Code=UHPILOWP Powell's http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-0805082727-0 BookSense.com http://www.booksense.com/ Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Iraq-Withdrawal-American-Empire-Project/dp/0805082727 Barnes and Noble.com http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0805082727

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South America: Toward an Alternative Future, International Herald Tribune (January 5, 2007). An excerpt:

Last month a coincidence of birth and death signaled a transition for South America and indeed for the world. The former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet died even as leaders of South American nations concluded a two-day summit meeting in Cochabamba, Bolivia, hosted by President Evo Morales, at which the participants and the agenda represented the antithesis of Pinochet and his era.

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